56th Reconnaissance Corps

Sue Gallagher · Mar 9, 2025

Hopefully in the right order, very similar to previous booklet, this though is the one he wrote first.

Sue Gallagher · May 9, 2025

Got to see them! Now to get the badge, ribbons and medals together. Been reading up on 56th Reece and 78th division, I’m in awe of what they endured, very brave men indeed.

wishis · May 9, 2025

Not sure what happened to my grandad’s campaign medals which is a shame, but at least have his MM and letter from the King.

Tony56 · Feb 23, 2026

Some 56 Recce information here:
E Elliott

Ray Petty · Apr 8, 2026 at 12:13 AM

martinb said: ↑

5 lads from the 56th died on that day
4 were buried in Faenza Cemetery in Northern Italy
The other at Ravenna
Notes on Faenza War Cemetery from the cWGC Site

Cemetery:FAENZA WAR CEMETERY
Country:Italy
Locality:unspecifiedVisiting
Information:The cemetery is permanently open and may be visited anytime. Wheelchair access to site possible, but may be by alternative entrance. For further information regarding wheelchair access, please contact our Enquiries Section on telephone number 01628 507200.Location Information:Take the Bologna-Ancona autostrada A14 and exit at Faenza. The War Cemetery lies 1.5 kilometres south-east of Faenza and is approached by a secondary road which branches off the main road Bologna-Forli (Route No.9) just east of the town.
Historical Information:On 3 September 1943 the Allies invaded the Italian mainland, the invasion coinciding with an armistice made with the Italians who then re-entered the war on the Allied side. Following the fall of Rome to the Allies in June 1944, the German retreat became ordered and successive stands were made on a series of defensive lines. In the northern Appenine mountains the last of these, the Gothic Line, was breached by the Allies during the Autumn campaign and the front inched forward as far as Ravenna in the Adratic sector, but with divisions transferred to support the new offensive in France, and the Germans dug in to a number of key defensive positions, the advance stalled as winter set in. The war cemetery at Faenza was formed during these months for the burial of those who were killed in the static fighting before the Allied advance was renewed in April 1945. Faenza War Cemetery contains 1,152 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War.No. of Identified Casualties:1139

Name:

CAMPBELL, JAMES
Initials:
J
Nationality:
United Kingdom
Rank:
Serjeant
Regiment/Service:
Reconnaissance Corps, R.A.C.
Unit Text:
56th Regt.
Age:
25
Date of Death:
14/04/1945
Service No:
3246947
Additional information:
Son of Richard and Margaret Campbell, of Allanton, Shotts, Lanarkshire.
Casualty Type:
Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:
VII. C. 17.
Cemetery:
FAENZA WAR CEMETERY

Name:
HACK, WILLIAM JAMES
Initials:
W J
Nationality:
United Kingdom
Rank:
Serjeant
Regiment/Service:
Reconnaissance Corps, R.A.C.
Unit Text:
56th Regt.
Age:
26
Date of Death:
14/04/1945
Service No:
6094808
Additional information:
Son of Joseph and Edith Hack; husband of Hilda Mary Hack, of Linslade, Buckinghamshire.
Casualty Type:
Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:
II. C. 19.
Cemetery:
FAENZA WAR CEMETERY

Name:
MATHER, HAROLD BENJAMIN
Initials:
H B
Nationality:
United Kingdom
Rank:
Trooper
Regiment/Service:
Reconnaissance Corps, R.A.C.
Unit Text:
56th Regt.
Age:
23
Date of Death:
14/04/1945
Service No:
5383110
Additional information:
Son of Harold and Bertha Louise Mather, of Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
Casualty Type:
Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:
VII. C. 19.
Cemetery:
FAENZA WAR CEMETERY

Name:
OSBORNE, ALFRED
Initials:
A
Nationality:
United Kingdom
Rank:
Trooper
Regiment/Service:
Reconnaissance Corps, R.A.C.
Unit Text:
56th Regt.
Age:
28
Date of Death:
14/04/1945
Service No:
6094184
Additional information:
Son of George and Eliza Rose Osborne; husband of Norah Osborne, of Peckham, London.
Casualty Type:
Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:
VII. C. 18.
Cemetery:
FAENZA WAR CEMETERY

Name:
THOMPSON, HAROLD
Initials:
H
Nationality:
United Kingdom
Rank:
Trooper
Regiment/Service:
Reconnaissance Corps, R.A.C.
Unit Text:
56th Regt.
Age:
23
Date of Death:
14/04/1945
Service No:
10602250
Additional information:
Son of Thomas Charles and Theresa Thompson, of Greasbrough, Yorkshire.
Casualty Type:
Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:
I. G. 1.
Cemetery:
RAVENNA WAR CEMETERY
Click to expand...

martinb said: ↑

5 lads from the 56th died on that day
4 were buried in Faenza Cemetery in Northern Italy
The other at Ravenna
Notes on Faenza War Cemetery from the cWGC Site

Cemetery:FAENZA WAR CEMETERY
Country:Italy
Locality:unspecifiedVisiting
Information:The cemetery is permanently open and may be visited anytime. Wheelchair access to site possible, but may be by alternative entrance. For further information regarding wheelchair access, please contact our Enquiries Section on telephone number 01628 507200.Location Information:Take the Bologna-Ancona autostrada A14 and exit at Faenza. The War Cemetery lies 1.5 kilometres south-east of Faenza and is approached by a secondary road which branches off the main road Bologna-Forli (Route No.9) just east of the town.
Historical Information:On 3 September 1943 the Allies invaded the Italian mainland, the invasion coinciding with an armistice made with the Italians who then re-entered the war on the Allied side. Following the fall of Rome to the Allies in June 1944, the German retreat became ordered and successive stands were made on a series of defensive lines. In the northern Appenine mountains the last of these, the Gothic Line, was breached by the Allies during the Autumn campaign and the front inched forward as far as Ravenna in the Adratic sector, but with divisions transferred to support the new offensive in France, and the Germans dug in to a number of key defensive positions, the advance stalled as winter set in. The war cemetery at Faenza was formed during these months for the burial of those who were killed in the static fighting before the Allied advance was renewed in April 1945. Faenza War Cemetery contains 1,152 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War.No. of Identified Casualties:1139

Name:

CAMPBELL, JAMES
Initials:
J
Nationality:
United Kingdom
Rank:
Serjeant
Regiment/Service:
Reconnaissance Corps, R.A.C.
Unit Text:
56th Regt.
Age:
25
Date of Death:
14/04/1945
Service No:
3246947
Additional information:
Son of Richard and Margaret Campbell, of Allanton, Shotts, Lanarkshire.
Casualty Type:
Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:
VII. C. 17.
Cemetery:
FAENZA WAR CEMETERY

Name:
HACK, WILLIAM JAMES
Initials:
W J
Nationality:
United Kingdom
Rank:
Serjeant
Regiment/Service:
Reconnaissance Corps, R.A.C.
Unit Text:
56th Regt.
Age:
26
Date of Death:
14/04/1945
Service No:
6094808
Additional information:
Son of Joseph and Edith Hack; husband of Hilda Mary Hack, of Linslade, Buckinghamshire.
Casualty Type:
Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:
II. C. 19.
Cemetery:
FAENZA WAR CEMETERY

Name:
MATHER, HAROLD BENJAMIN
Initials:
H B
Nationality:
United Kingdom
Rank:
Trooper
Regiment/Service:
Reconnaissance Corps, R.A.C.
Unit Text:
56th Regt.
Age:
23
Date of Death:
14/04/1945
Service No:
5383110
Additional information:
Son of Harold and Bertha Louise Mather, of Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
Casualty Type:
Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:
VII. C. 19.
Cemetery:
FAENZA WAR CEMETERY

Life story of my uncle Ben Mather, attached as a pdf
or contact me:raympetty@gmail.com

Name:
OSBORNE, ALFRED
Initials:
A
Nationality:
United Kingdom
Rank:
Trooper
Regiment/Service:
Reconnaissance Corps, R.A.C.
Unit Text:
56th Regt.
Age:
28
Date of Death:
14/04/1945
Service No:
6094184
Additional information:
Son of George and Eliza Rose Osborne; husband of Norah Osborne, of Peckham, London.
Casualty Type:
Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:
VII. C. 18.
Cemetery:
FAENZA WAR CEMETERY

Name:
THOMPSON, HAROLD
Initials:
H
Nationality:
United Kingdom
Rank:
Trooper
Regiment/Service:
Reconnaissance Corps, R.A.C.
Unit Text:
56th Regt.
Age:
23
Date of Death:
14/04/1945
Service No:
10602250
Additional information:
Son of Thomas Charles and Theresa Thompson, of Greasbrough, Yorkshire.
Casualty Type:
Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:
I. G. 1.
Cemetery:
RAVENNA WAR CEMETERY
Click to expand...

martinb said: ↑

5 lads from the 56th died on that day
4 were buried in Faenza Cemetery in Northern Italy
The other at Ravenna
Notes on Faenza War Cemetery from the cWGC Site

Cemetery:FAENZA WAR CEMETERY
Country:Italy
Locality:unspecifiedVisiting
Information:The cemetery is permanently open and may be visited anytime. Wheelchair access to site possible, but may be by alternative entrance. For further information regarding wheelchair access, please contact our Enquiries Section on telephone number 01628 507200.Location Information:Take the Bologna-Ancona autostrada A14 and exit at Faenza. The War Cemetery lies 1.5 kilometres south-east of Faenza and is approached by a secondary road which branches off the main road Bologna-Forli (Route No.9) just east of the town.
Historical Information:On 3 September 1943 the Allies invaded the Italian mainland, the invasion coinciding with an armistice made with the Italians who then re-entered the war on the Allied side. Following the fall of Rome to the Allies in June 1944, the German retreat became ordered and successive stands were made on a series of defensive lines. In the northern Appenine mountains the last of these, the Gothic Line, was breached by the Allies during the Autumn campaign and the front inched forward as far as Ravenna in the Adratic sector, but with divisions transferred to support the new offensive in France, and the Germans dug in to a number of key defensive positions, the advance stalled as winter set in. The war cemetery at Faenza was formed during these months for the burial of those who were killed in the static fighting before the Allied advance was renewed in April 1945. Faenza War Cemetery contains 1,152 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War.No. of Identified Casualties:1139

Name:

CAMPBELL, JAMES
Initials:
J
Nationality:
United Kingdom
Rank:
Serjeant
Regiment/Service:
Reconnaissance Corps, R.A.C.
Unit Text:
56th Regt.
Age:
25
Date of Death:
14/04/1945
Service No:
3246947
Additional information:
Son of Richard and Margaret Campbell, of Allanton, Shotts, Lanarkshire.
Casualty Type:
Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:
VII. C. 17.
Cemetery:
FAENZA WAR CEMETERY

Name:
HACK, WILLIAM JAMES
Initials:
W J
Nationality:
United Kingdom
Rank:
Serjeant
Regiment/Service:
Reconnaissance Corps, R.A.C.
Unit Text:
56th Regt.
Age:
26
Date of Death:
14/04/1945
Service No:
6094808
Additional information:
Son of Joseph and Edith Hack; husband of Hilda Mary Hack, of Linslade, Buckinghamshire.
Casualty Type:
Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:
II. C. 19.
Cemetery:
FAENZA WAR CEMETERY

Name:
MATHER, HAROLD BENJAMIN
Initials:
H B
Nationality:
United Kingdom
Rank:
Trooper
Regiment/Service:
Reconnaissance Corps, R.A.C.
Unit Text:
56th Regt.
Age:
23
Date of Death:
14/04/1945
Service No:
5383110
Additional information:
Son of Harold and Bertha Louise Mather, of Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
Casualty Type:
Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:
VII. C. 19.
Cemetery:
FAENZA WAR CEMETERY

Name:
OSBORNE, ALFRED
Initials:
A
Nationality:
United Kingdom
Rank:
Trooper
Regiment/Service:
Reconnaissance Corps, R.A.C.
Unit Text:
56th Regt.
Age:
28
Date of Death:
14/04/1945
Service No:
6094184
Additional information:
Son of George and Eliza Rose Osborne; husband of Norah Osborne, of Peckham, London.
Casualty Type:
Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:
VII. C. 18.
Cemetery:
FAENZA WAR CEMETERY

Name:
THOMPSON, HAROLD
Initials:
H
Nationality:
United Kingdom
Rank:
Trooper
Regiment/Service:
Reconnaissance Corps, R.A.C.
Unit Text:
56th Regt.
Age:
23
Date of Death:
14/04/1945
Service No:
10602250
Additional information:
Son of Thomas Charles and Theresa Thompson, of Greasbrough, Yorkshire.
Casualty Type:
Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:
I. G. 1.
Cemetery:
RAVENNA WAR CEMETERY
Click to expand...

Tony56 said: ↑

Ray, Appreciate that you posted some time ago (#117) but here is some info that may be of interest.

The CWGC Graves Concentration Report Form attached to Tpr Mather's record shows three 56 Recce men killed 14 April 45:-

3246947 Sgt J Campbell

6094184 Tpr A Osborne

5383110 Tpr H B Mather

The form states that their original burial position was map ref 236483. It was not unusual for casualties to be buried very near to where they fell.

56 Recce diaries for the day state:

"Contact was established with enemy infantry in dug-in position and houses and mines were encountered area 230488, where one M8 was blown up and destroyed. Casualties 3 killed."

Have attached a map showing these two positions, point 1 shows the incident and point 2 the temporary grave.
View attachment 290136

Satelite view of where the M8 Greyhound armoured car was blown up. wM230488

All three belonged to C squadron (as was my father) and one of their tasks that day was to recce crossings over the River Sillaro at 219494 as shown.
Click to expand...

Ray Petty · Apr 8, 2026 at 12:16 AM

Tony56 said: ↑

Ray, Appreciate that you posted some time ago (#117) but here is some info that may be of interest.

The CWGC Graves Concentration Report Form attached to Tpr Mather's record shows three 56 Recce men killed 14 April 45:-

3246947 Sgt J Campbell

6094184 Tpr A Osborne

5383110 Tpr H B Mather

The form states that their original burial position was map ref 236483. It was not unusual for casualties to be buried very near to where they fell.

56 Recce diaries for the day state:

"Contact was established with enemy infantry in dug-in position and houses and mines were encountered area 230488, where one M8 was blown up and destroyed. Casualties 3 killed."

Have attached a map showing these two positions, point 1 shows the incident and point 2 the temporary grave.
View attachment 290136

Satelite view of where the M8 Greyhound armoured car was blown up. wM230488

All three belonged to C squadron (as was my father) and one of their tasks that day was to recce crossings over the River Sillaro at 219494 as shown.
Click to expand...

Recce_Mitch · Apr 8, 2026 at 4:04 AM

Thanks for posting

4jonboy · Apr 8, 2026 at 5:19 PM

Thank you for posting .

Lesley

Tony56 · Apr 8, 2026 at 10:47 PM

56 Recce diary for the 14 April 1945:
resized P2250797 | WW2Talk

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56th Reconnaissance Corps

Sue Gallagher Member

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Sue Gallagher Member

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Harold Benjamin Mather (Lifestory).pdf

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Ray Petty Junior Member

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56th Reconnaissance Corps

Sue Gallagher Member

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